


Awkward Doesn't Cover It

by DizzyDrea



Category: Grimm (TV)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-25
Updated: 2012-03-25
Packaged: 2017-11-05 06:58:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/403652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DizzyDrea/pseuds/DizzyDrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick experiences the most awkward non-date ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Awkward Doesn't Cover It

**Author's Note:**

> This was a fill for a post on the Grimm Kink Meme back in December 2011. And believe me, it was just as awkward writing it as it is to read it. Because…say it with me, now…awkward! The funny thing about this story is that a few days before I posted it to the kink meme, a few spoilers for _Love Sick_ came out, showing the inevitable dinner with Hank/Adalind and Nick/Juliette. So, consider this an alternate take on that, conceived before I became aware of that scene.
> 
> Originally posted on LiveJournal.
> 
> Disclaimer: Grimm is the property of NBC, Universal Television, GK Productions, Hazy Mills Productions, Open 4 Business Productions LLC and a lot of other people who aren’t me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.

~o~

"Fancy meeting you here."

Nick Burkhardt turned around at the sound of a familiar voice. Standing there, in the waiting area of one of Portland's nicest restaurants, was his partner Hank Griffin. Of all the coincidences. Nick sighed.

"Hey, Hank," he said, trying for a smile. He was pretty sure he was failing, but he didn't think Hank noticed.

"So, what are you doing here?" Hank asked.

Nick opened his mouth to answer when Hank was joined by a beautiful blond. They were both dressed casually—which for this particular restaurant was dark slacks and a button down shirt for Hank and a nice red dress for his companion. It was obvious they were on a date. Of course, Nick was dressed in dark slacks himself, with a charcoal sweater and his leather jacket, which he'd thrown on at the last minute. Hank was probably expecting a new girlfriend to pop out at any second. He'd either be surprised or disappointed when he found out who he was actually meeting, and Nick couldn't decide which was worse.

"Did you get us a table?" his date asked. She seemed not to notice anything was amiss until she saw where Hank's attention had gone. A smile lit her face. "Detective Burkhardt!"

"Yeah. Adalind Schade, right?" Nick asked, smiling at her. He hadn't seen her in a while, and he'd had no idea that she and Hank had been seeing each other. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He'd done a little more digging in Aunt Marie's books, and had learned pretty much all there was to know about _hexenbiester_. He'd also talked to a couple of people about her kind, and while he wasn't as suspicious of her as he had been, he was wary enough to wonder what her motives might be. He turned to Hank, his eyebrow raised. "Are you two on a date?"

If Hank had lighter skin, Nick imagined he'd be blushing right about now. As it was, he gave an abashed smile. "Yeah." He looked to Adalind, and they seemed to do some sort of wordless communication, much like he and Hank would do while working a case. It surprised him, because that meant they'd been doing this for a while. Then his friend turned back to him. "Would you like to join us?"

"Oh, that's—"

"Nick, I think they're—"

Nick could see the exact moment that Hank and Adalind recognized the voice coming from behind them. Hank raised an eyebrow; Adalind smirked.

Captain Sean Renard strolled over to the group—dressed as ever in a finely tailored suit, tie and pocket square a perfectly matched blue, and looking every inch the powerful man that he was—and Nick wondered when the Earth was going to open up and swallow him whole. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be. It was only his years of training as a detective, coupled with his skill as a Grimm that kept him from reacting— _overreacting_ , a voice in his head supplied.

"Captain," Hank said, mildly surprised. "Are you two… together?"

Nick could see Hank struggling to make sense of what he was seeing. Adalind simply stood by, intensely curious, but not betraying anything. Which didn't surprise him at all. _Hexenbiester_ were notoriously unflappable. Something to do with serving royalty, he'd bet.

The silence stretched. "Well, this is awkward," Nick said.

They all chuckled. Then, Hank tilted his head. "Why don't you two join us?"

Adalind jumped like someone had just pinched her, shooting Hank a confused look.

"I don’t think—"

"We'd love to," Sean said, cutting Nick off. 

Nick shot him a look, but Sean just looked back, that infuriatingly placid expression firmly in place. His shoulders slumped ever so slightly as he sighed. He tried another smile, this one weaker than the last. "Yeah, that sounds nice."

Just then, the hostess approached their group. "Captain Renard? Your table is ready."

He turned to the hostess, putting on his most charming smile. "We've had a slight change of plans. Our friends will be joining us."

The hostess glanced at Hank and Adalind before turning back to Sean, a smile on her face. "Of course; that's no problem. If you'll just follow me?"

She disappeared into the restaurant, and Sean extended his hand, silently encouraging Hank and Adalind to follow her. Nick fell in beside him as they brought up the rear.

"Are you crazy?" Nick whispered urgently.

"Relax," Sean said, his calm expression never wavering.

Nick tried to relax as much as possible. So they had dinner with Hank and Adalind. It would be fine. Hank knew better than to ask too many questions, and he didn't think that Adalind would either, knowing that she wasn't exactly Nick's favorite person.

The hostess led them to a table in the back, quietly passed out the menus and then just as quietly took her leave.

Once they were seated at the table, they each took up a menu and spent an inordinate amount of time studying it. Nick really didn't need to, and he knew Sean didn't really either. They'd come to this restaurant a number of times since they'd struck up a friendship. He'd tried just about everything on the menu that appealed, and quite a few things that didn't when Sean had offered a taste of his meal.

The waiter had come and gone, and Sean had ordered a bottle of Bordeaux for the table. Nick, for one, was glad of the wine. Maybe it would make things less awkward.

"So, how long have you two been seeing each other?" Sean asked once the waiter was gone.

Nick practically choked on the water he'd just taken a sip of. Sean was better at the small talk than he was, and he recognized that they had to talk about something, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know the intimate details of how Hank and Adalind had wound up together. Then again, he hadn't even known that Hank was seeing someone, so he couldn't say he wasn't curious.

"Yeah, tell us how this happened," he said, giving Hank a tight smile that spoke of all the ways he was going to kill his partner for not telling him about this.

Hank had the good grace to look abashed. He cleared his throat and glanced at Adalind, who was giving him a sweet smile that said _oh, no, this is all yours_.

"We ran into each other after we closed that case with the DJ," Hank said. "I was having a drink with Wu; Adalind was supposed to be meeting someone—"

"One of my co-workers," she put in. "Her sister called at the last minute, so she had to cancel." At this she glanced at Hank, linking her arm with his and smiling at him with such genuine affection that Nick had to consider that maybe she really did like him.

"Anyway, she asked me if I wanted to join her." Hank shrugged, drawing a chuckle out of Nick. For a man with four ex-wives, he seemed singularly unconcerned about potentially collecting a fifth.

Just then, the waiter arrived with the wine. He poured out generous glasses for everyone, and then took their orders and left. Sean raised his glass, appearing to examine the rich red coloring for a moment before he offered a toast.

"To friends."

"To friends," they all echoed.

Nick took a rather larger sip than strictly necessary and nearly choked on the wine as it burned down his throat. Sean slapped him a couple of times on his back, his knowing smirk galling Nick. How he could be so calm in the face of Hank and Adalind dating was beyond Nick. He leaned in close, murmuring in Nick's ear.

"Take it easy. It'll be fine."

Nick blushed to the roots of his hair—embarrassed at the fact that he'd choked on his wine, of all things—and when he looked up, Hank was staring at him. He knew what his partner was seeing, and it couldn't be farther from the truth. He and Sean had started spending time together when things with Juliette had gotten a bit rocky. They'd grown comfortable with each other, which might look like something else to someone not in the know.

"So," Hank said, jolting Nick out of his musings, "when did you two start…?"

"Hanging out?" Sean asked, that sly smirk tilting his lips.

Hank offered a strangled affirmation, to which Adalind merely cooed and rubbed a hand up and down his arm.

"Not long after that weird arson case," Nick said, letting that statement hang in the air. They both knew how weird that case had been—weirder for Nick than for Hank, if the truth were told—and in the aftermath, they'd come to some sort of silent agreement to never mention it again.

Juliette had left not long after that case. Being kidnapped by a crazy old man's equally crazy daughter hadn't set too well with her. She'd been apologetic, and had told him more than once that it wasn't that he was a cop, per se, just that if he was going to keep bringing cases home—and by that she meant literally bringing them home, as had happened with the _siegbarst_ and the _daemonfueur_ , not that she knew what they really were—then she just wasn't going to be able to handle it. 

She wanted the fairy tale, and Nick didn't have the heart to tell her that the fairy tale she wanted simply didn't exist. He was living it, and he knew firsthand that Disney hadn't just gotten it wrong, he'd gotten it spectacularly wrong. He'd felt relieved that he didn't have to explain it all to her and have her tell him she thought he was crazy, or leave him because it was just too crazy even if she did believe him. And he'd felt relieved, because she was safer now that she wasn't living with him. It wasn't wrong to feel that way, but it made him feel guilty nonetheless.

A few late dinners with Sean, in which he'd poured out what he could of his heart to his very understanding Captain—who was himself divorced, who knew?—and suddenly he'd found himself a friend. It had been weird at first, and he'd struggled with the idea that Sean Renard was his boss and now his friend. But Sean had been better than his word, never showing him favoritism, always having his back and never expecting more than he was able to give. It was good, and Nick was grateful for the friendship and the shoulder to lean on. Monroe was great, but when it came to human relationships, he was even more mystified than Nick.

"So, not that long," Hank observed into the silence. 

Nick felt bad, because he hadn't said anything to Hank about what was going on right under his nose. Of course, he hadn't told Hank about any of his Grimm work, either. He'd become intensely private over the last six months, which was unusual for him. He was surprised Hank hadn't called him on it yet.

"No, not that long," Nick said.

"So, tell me," Hank said, leaning back a little in his chair. Nick's senses went on alert, because Hank usually only did that when he was interrogating a suspect he wanted to win over. "What exactly do you two do when you hang out?"

This time it was Adalind who choked, unfortunately on the wine. Hank rubbed her back as she downed most of her glass of water, tears leaking out of her eyes. When she'd finally recovered herself, Hank returned his attention to his partner, raising an eyebrow as if to say that he wasn't going to forget that he was still interrogating Nick.

"What do friends usually do?" Nick asked a little defensively. He could see Sean out of the corner of his eye, taking a sip of his wine even as he nudged him with his elbow. He sighed. "We hike or go running. Dinner. Archery, oddly enough."

Hank's eyebrow nearly reached his hairline. "Archery. Is there a club around here or something?"

"Or something," Sean said, tilting his head to the side in a half-shrug.

In point of fact, there was a rather exclusive sporting club on the outskirts of Portland that Sean belonged to. Nick had been in bad shape after the breakup, even if he was relieved that the relationship was over. Sean had started taking him to the club on weekends in an effort to get him out of the house. He'd been learning archery and fencing among other things. It had turned out to be quite useful for his Grimm work, and they both enjoyed spending time competing against each other as well as helping each other improve.

They were rescued from further conversation by the arrival of their meals. All four of them tucked in, commenting on the food and comparing dishes. Throw in a few comments on the weather, and whether or not Portland would ever get another professional sports team again—mostly a rehashed conversation that Hank and Nick had been having at work—and the dinner passed quicker than Nick had expected, though not without the expected share of fits and starts as they searched around for topics to cover. Once the meal was over and coffee had been served, the awkward silence returned.

"So, are you two doing anything this weekend?" Nick asked.

He hadn't forgotten the interrogation from earlier, and wanted Hank to know he could give as good as he got. Hank winced, appearing to get the message.

"We were talking about some wine tasting," Adalind answered for him. "There's a wine festival in Hillsborough that I've heard good things about."

"Sounds nice," Nick said, smiling at her. He leaned closer to Sean. "Don't even think about it."

Sean chuckled. "Wouldn’t dream of it."

Wine might be Sean's favorite hobby—according to Nick—as evidenced by the vast collection he had in his apartment, but Nick still preferred a beer and whatever game was on TV. Not that Sean hadn't joined him from time to time. And his beer was infinitely better than anything Nick had been accustomed to, even when he visited Monroe.

Hank watched the byplay between the two men and Nick noticed the choked expression cross his face. Maybe it was his imagination, but he hoped that didn't mean that Hank disapproved. It was unorthodox to be friends with your commanding officer, but they'd also been out drinking and playing pool with Sergeant Wu a number of times, so he doubted that was it. Then again, it could just be the seeming suddenness of Nick's friendship with their Captain. He hadn't planned to strike up a friendship with the older man, but he couldn't say he was sorry he had.

Just then, Sean's phone rang. He rose and stepped a few feet away as he answered. He spoke for a few moments, then returned to the table, an apologetic smile on his face.

"Duty calls, I'm afraid," he said. He stopped beside Nick, squeezing his shoulder briefly. "I'll see you later."

Nick smiled up at him. "Yeah."

He turned to Hank and Adalind. "Have a good evening, you two."

Both of them smiled at him as he disappeared.

"Does that happen often?" Hank asked.

Nick chuckled. "More than you'd think for a police Captain. I stopped asking after the third or fourth time."

Just then, Adalind's phone went off. She fished it out of her purse and frowned down at the screen before looking up at Hank.

"Gotta go?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," she said apologetically. "A contract that needs rewriting ASAP."

She leaned over, kissing Hank softly. Nick could see her eyes shining with affection for Hank, who seemed equally taken with the young lawyer. And with a start, Nick realized that he hadn't seen her _hexenbiest_ face all night. Either she'd developed better control or she was truly content. He'd bet it was the latter.

"Detective," she said, smiling at him.

"Please, call me Nick," he said. If they were going to be seeing each other more often, he'd rather be on a first name basis.

"Good night, Nick," she said. She gathered her purse and jacket and headed for the door.

Finally, it was just the two partners. They looked at each other across the table, each one waiting for the other to say something.

"So, you and Adalind," Nick said, deciding he could be the one to break first.

"Yeah," Hank said, a silly grin breaking out over his face. "So, you and the Captain."

Nick smiled. "Yeah."

"Are you happy?" Hank asked.

"It's not like that," Nick said, wanting to be clear. "But yeah, I'm good. Sean and I get along well. He helped take my mind off the breakup; he's a good friend." He paused, then asked, "You?"

Hank shrugged. "Happier than I've been in a while. I like her. And she doesn’t ask for much."

"She's different than your exes," Nick said. "More independent. Sure of herself."

Of course, Hank didn't know the half of it. Still, he'd learned that Adalind wasn't as bad as he'd thought. She was loyal to a fault, and would defend those she'd sworn loyalty to with her last breath. That had to be worth something.

"Do I have to say anything to the Captain about breaking your heart?" Hank asked.

Nick nearly choked on his coffee. "Funny." He took a drink of water. "You know it's not like that, right? I mean, we're friends—good friends—but that's it."

"Yeah, I get it," Hank said. He leaned back, a pleased smile on his face. He probably thought it was fun teasing Nick. He'd have to make sure Hank got some teasing in return. "This isn't going to be a problem at work?"

"It hasn't yet," Nick said. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "We made an agreement, when we first started hanging out together. He doesn’t treat me any different; I don't expect to be treated differently."

"Fair enough."

"What about you and Adalind?" Nick asked. "Do I have to give her 'The Talk'?"

Hank just grinned and shook his head. "I don't think so. I've been up front with her; she knows all about my exes. But we're not in a hurry. It's been kinda nice, just getting to know each other."

"I'm glad," Nick said. And he was surprised to find that he was. It was good to see Hank happy.

"I should probably get going," Hank said. 

He reached for his wallet, but Nick just shook his head. "I saw Sean talking to the waiter just before he left. I'm betting he took care of the check."

"You sure?"

Nick held up his hands. "I learned a long time ago not to get between Sean and something he wants. So, yeah, we're good."

Hank chuckled. The men got up and shrugged into their jackets as they headed for the door. A quick word with the waiter on the way out confirmed Nick's suspicions about the check. They emerged into the cool Portland night, both men taking a deep breath of fresh air.

Nick turned to Hank and smiled. "Have fun at your wine festival."

"Don't remind me," Hank said, rolling his eyes. "You and Renard going shooting this weekend?"

"I don't know," Nick said. "We haven't been in a few weeks, so maybe."

"Well, enjoy yourselves."

"Thanks," Nick said.

The two men shook hands, then went their separate ways. Nick breathed a sigh of relief as he climbed into his truck. He only hoped he didn't have to go through that again anytime soon.

~o~

The crack of the shotgun split the air, the shot flying toward the target downrange. Sean and Nick stood side by side at the range, taking turns shattering clay pigeons in the early morning light. It had been two days since the awkward not-date with Hank and Adalind. They had yet to talk about it, but they hadn't really seen much of each other, so Nick figured the topic was bound to come up that day.

"Everything go alright after I left?"

Nick chuckled; he'd guessed right. "If you mean, did I get interrogated after you rescued Adalind, then the answer is yes."

Sean smiled. "My apologies. I needed her particular talents."

"Pull!" Nick called out. The pigeon flew, and Nick fired, watching as the clay shattered, shards flying in all directions. He turned to Sean as he reloaded his shotgun. "Wesen politics?"

"Something like that," Sean said. "Pull!"

The next clay pigeon flew off the launcher, and Sean tracked it across the sky before firing, the satisfying explosion of clay sending more shards into the air.

"Do I want to know?"

Sean shook his head as he reloaded his own gun. "It's nothing that rises to the level of a Grimm. Just a petty squabble that got out of hand."

"And this requires the attention of the Prince of Portland?"

"Sometimes a firmer hand can settle issues more effectively," Sean said. 

"Right," Nick said, smirking. He wouldn't take Sean's job for the world most days. Politics was something he stayed as far away from as he could. "Pull!"

Nick pulled the trigger, his shot going wide. Cursing quietly, he quickly cocked his gun and fired again, this time his aim true as the target broke apart.

"Nothing like taking out my frustrations on a few clay pigeons," Nick said, smiling at his friend as he reloaded once again. He turned to Sean, smirk firmly in place. "Promise me we don't ever have to do that again?"

Sean chuckled. "Did Hank really interrogate you?"

"No, not really," Nick said. He shrugged. "We're friends, and we've kept secrets from each other. I think he just wanted to make sure I was okay."

Sean nodded, cocking his gun as he turned back to the range. "Pull!"

He tracked the target, firing on and shattering yet another clay pigeon. He glanced back at Nick. "And are you? Doing okay, I mean."

"Yes," Nick said without hesitation.

He'd been surprised to find out that Sean was a powerful wesen. They'd spent the better part of a night in the early days of their friendship talking through the whole thing. Sean confessed his true nature, and that he'd known Nick was a Grimm all along. It had thrown him for a loop, and it had taken him a few days to come to terms with it. But as they'd gotten to know each other, he'd come to understand that Sean was a protector—it was part of his DNA to protect his people, be they humans or wesen. It was what made him a good cop and a good ruler.

He'd also been surprised to find that his aunt had collected precious little on the creature within the man. There were oblique references, and vague sketches, but not much beyond that. But it had been the trust Sean had showed in him when he'd revealed his true nature that had been the turning point in their friendship. 

Nick had found Sean to be an important ally, someone who understood the links between wesen species and how that affected their interactions. Monroe was good with what the wesen were like and how to defeat them, but Nick found himself going to Sean for help whenever he had to navigate the tricky relationships between wesen. And it was nice to have someone else who knew who and what he was.

"Thanks," Nick said. He lowered his gun, turning to face Sean once more. "For everything."

"You're welcome," Sean said, smiling.

The two men packed up their guns and headed out of the range. They'd made plans to have breakfast together, then go over some new information Nick had on a case he and Hank were working on. It was a human case, one of the rare all-human cases that came across his desk. These days he found that he and Hank spent most of their time investigating wesen-related cases. He had no doubt that was his Captain's doing, but he found he preferred it that way. Hank might still be in the dark about what Nick really was, but he was still a good detective, and he'd much prefer being the one handling these sorts of cases himself, just in case.

For the first time in a long time, Nick felt like his life was finally coming together. It wasn't perfect, and he still missed Juliette more than he'd ever admit, but he was in a good place, and that was enough for now.

~Finis


End file.
